Loosely based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, this science fiction masterpiece follows a cynical astronaut, played by Charlton Heston, who finds himself stranded on a planet where talking apes rule, and a species of mute, brutish humans are hunted for sport and scientific experimentation.

Mike dives into why this film will forever be his favorite, and how it successfully checks off all of his favorite things — from time travel to courtroom drama to gorillas with rifles — into a timeless piece of cinema.

Mike and Casey invade the Forbidden Zone with our theme song’s composer Todd Maxfield-Matsumoto and Comics Should Be Good!‘s Greg Hatcher. This month we’re talking about the classic film franchise: the Planet of the Apes!

We talk about the film’s long-lived popularity, its relevance as socially-aware science fiction, its totally insane comic book adaptations in the 1970s, and its subsequent reboots.

We also try to wrap our minds around how an ostensibly family-friendly adventure series includes bloody religious imagery, nudity, babies shot with handguns, and total nuclear devastation.